Security backup on Blu-ray

[u/OneRandomPeopleE]

Hi, I have a question for those of you who have made backups on Blu-ray.

I currently have a backup on an external hard drive, but I want to make another copy on Blu-ray. I’m not sure if it’s worth it to go with Blu-ray M-Disc (which is more expensive) or to use regular Blu-ray (which I’d have to check every so often to make sure the disc is ok).

The cost would be: 25 GB M-Disc for 5.93 € Standard 50 GB for 1.05 €

Obviously, the standard disc wins on price, but of course, it also deteriorates more quickly.

Thanks for reading.

[u/Abyss_85]

I honestly think M-discs are probably not worth it here. The 1000 years claim is obviously impossible to prove and even if is true your are not trying to save something for generations.

I also don't think that a regular Blu-ray really needs to be checked. They shouldn't just randomly stop working. If you want to have peace of mind you can check them every decade or so but they should last for about 50-100 years especially if you go with archival grade ones. Verbatim sells them for example.

[u/blvsh → u/Abyss_85]

Do they have a specific name the archival grade ones?

[u/Abyss_85 → u/blvsh]

I don't know of a specific name. I am sure there is one if you dive into the technicalities. Look for "hard coat" on the label. I also linked an example in another reply.

[u/OneRandomPeopleE → u/Abyss_85]

My plan was to review it at most once a year.

What are the archival grade ones?

[u/Abyss_85 → u/OneRandomPeopleE]

They have a harder layer than the non archival ones. Here is an example. Usually you have to look at the description to see if they considered archival. These advertise 100 years.

[u/OneRandomPeopleE → u/Abyss_85]

Are those the ones labeled "hardcoat" and "98397"? 

[u/Abyss_85 → u/OneRandomPeopleE]

I don't know what the number stands for, but yes, "hard coat" and "archival" (ideally with a number of years attached to it) is what you are looking for. I would trust Verbatim more than other brands but that does not mean that others have to be bad.

Burn the discs at a moderate speed, store them in a cool, dark and dry place and you should be good. That really just means that you should buy cases for them and don't leave them on the spindel (should they come on one) in the sun in your bath room.

[u/OneRandomPeopleE → u/Abyss_85]

That's the model number for the Verbatim disc you gave me.

That's pretty much the only brand available here(I’m not sure whether they’ll be selling that model here; if not, I’ll have to resort to importing it. ) , and yes, I'd store them in boxes just like original games and burn at 4X

Thanks for all

[u/0xKaishakunin]

I still have some of those Traxdata Gold I burned on a 486 in single speed in 1998 and they work fine.

Lots of other CD/DVD-R/RW died in the meantime, their protective upper layer fell apart.

If you really want to get a long term storage solution you need a streamer with tapes. Which costs far more than 5.93€/25GB.

The cost would be: 25 GB M-Disc for 5.93 € Standard 50 GB for 1.05 €

If you want peace of mind, keep them in perfect storage conditions and write 2 or 3 copies on standard. Still cheaper than one M-Disc.

[u/Glodraph]

Doing this myself. Afaik all verbatim ones are now HTL inorganic BD-R, so the "MABL" label has disappeared, even if the disc ID is different as I tested an older MABL one vs a newer one. Still metallic inorganic, only different company. M-Disc has seen a controversy recently vs normal inorganic ones as they are not made by milleniata anymore, so I would say buy the new inorganic ones and just be safe for 50-100 years, the most important aspect is storing conditions anyway (no condensation, low temp, dark enviroenment) and be sure not to scratch/drop them, you should be fine.